5 cute animal crafts to make

Animals are a fun "starter for 10" as far as kids' activities are concerned; craft, singing, animal noises, it's all there.

Spend a morning making your own menagerie with these five cute animal crafts. From polar bears to cheeky monkeys there are enough animals here for a few verses of Old Macdonald and beyond.

We've brought them all together for you here, along with a video tutorial for each individual animal.

Most of these involve some simple craft supplies but are easily modified to accommodate whatever you have lying around. So go ahead and make a menagerie!

1. Baa baa black sheep

What else are you going to do with all that cotton wool you stockpiled when your kids were babies? These are easy peasy. Make a whole flock and then give it a few rounds of Baa Baa Black Sheep. Craft: check. Musical stimulation: check. Perfect crafty mother: CHECK!

2. Peggy the noteholding lion

Peggy the lion is handy because she doubles as an eye-catching noteholder. The coily bits on her mane can be tricky but if you have a little crafter who likes a challenge, they will keep idle hands busy for a while.

3. Peg crocodiles

Who knew the humble clothes peg could be so beastly, in so many ways. The concertina fold is another good one for fine motor skills and if you don't have googly craft eyes on hand, just draw the eyes with a black marker pen.

4. Woolly polar bear

You'll need a good fast-drying craft glue for this one. The winding of the wool can be as rough and ready as little hands can manage, but it will keep them busy for about an hour or so. You could also make a yellow, brown or black bear if you don't have white wool lying around.

5. Cheeky monkeys

Remember the old game, Barrel of Monkeys? Well you can make your own pom pom version. A hot glue gun is recommended to lessen the angst of things not sticking in time. Once you've made three or four, the kids can experiment with ways to link them together - hands, feet or tail?